Home > Industries We Serve > Composite Testing COMPOSITE TESTING

Fiber-reinforced composite materials are finding more and more wide-spread applications in a variety of industries.  Well beyond traditional fiberglass, composites are now made from a number of different plastic, metal, and ceramic materials.  Light weight and very strong, such composites are used in everything from aircraft and boats to fishing rods and golf clubs. The unique properties of these materials present difficult analytical challenges.  IMR has put in place a number of techniques designed to assess the mechanical and chemical integrity of composites.  In addition, we have extensive experience with the analysis of failures of such materials and our materiolography lab is well equipped and well staffed with experts in the field.  We carry Sikorsky Approval, Pratt & Whitney Approval (including codes 15, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28, 33 and more), A2LA and Nadcap Accreditation for Composite Testing at our Ithaca, New York location. Come see us in booth F32 at SAMPE 2013 from May 6-9 in Long Beach, CA.  Director of Materials & Product Evaluation Bill DeLaurier will be available to answer your questions. Check out our new Fiber Reinforced Composites testing pamphlet (.pdf).

For information about our composite testing capabilities, contact:     Bill DeLaurier (Director of Materials & Product Testing in NY) Ron Parrington, P.E., FASM (President), or Mike Bimbo (Senior Chemist in NY)

COMPOSITE TESTING RELATED PAMPHLETS (.pdf)   Fiber Reinforced Composite Testing Failure Analysis & Hosted Inspection Services

COMPOSITE TESTING AVAILABLE (also see our specification list below)   Photomicrograph of a fiber-reinforced composite sample - Materialography Fatigue testing of a fiber-reinforced composite sample Fiber-reinforced composite tensile specimen after breaking Materialography Sectioning Areal Weight Tensile Strength Flexural Properties  - Strength  - Modulus  - Stress-Strain Response Compressive Properties Static Pin Bearing Strength Climbing Drum Peel Strength Short Beam Strength Compressive Properties with Unsupported Gage Section by Shear Loading In Plane Shear Response Shear Strength Shear Properties Open Hole Tensile Open Hole Compression Filled Hole Tension/Compression Density Constituent Content Matrix Content Volatiles Content Void Content DSC Resin Penetration Fiber Content     FIBER REINFORCED COMPOSITE FAILURE ANALYSIS Field Failures Returns Manufacturing Process Problems Life Cycle Test Failure Evaluation  Defect Detection Contamination Analysis Corrosion & Environmental Effects Product Design Review   Picture of the failed tank on location before samples removed for analysis.     Photomicrograph of the failed tank showing interlaminar cracks. SEM image of failed composite tank showing poor resin penetration of original material.

COMPOSITE TESTING METHODS & SPECIFICATIONS Some of the methods performed and specifications tested to are as follows.  Please contact us if you don't see a specification listed here.  We are always adding new methods and specifications.

ASTM C297/ 297M Sandwich or Core Flatwise Tensile Strength ASTM C393/ 393M Core Shear Properties of Sandwich Construction by Beam Flexure ASTM D695  Compressive Properties of Plastics  ASTM D790 Flexural Strength, Flexural Modulus, Flexural Stress-Strain Response ASTM D792 Test Method for Density of Plastics Using Immersion Methods ASTM D953 Static Pin Bearing Strength ASTM D1781 Climbing Drum Peel Strength of Adhesives ASTM D2344/ 2344M Short Beam Strength ASTM D2734 Standard Test Methods for Void Content of Reinforced Plastics ASTM D3039/ 3039M Tensile Properties of Polymer Composites ASTM D3171 Standard Test Methods for Constituent Content of Composite Materials ASTM D3410/ 3410M Compressive Properties with Unsupported Gage Section by Shear Loading ASTM D3418 Standard Test Method for Transition Temperatures and Enthalpies of Fusion and Crystallization of Polymers by Differential Scanning Calorimetry ASTM D3518/ 3518M In Plane Shear Response ASTM D3529/ 3529M Standard Test Method for Matrix Solids Content and Matrix Content of Composite Prepreg ASTM D3530/ 3530M Standard Test Method for Volatiles Content of Composite Material Prepreg ASTM D4255/ 4255M Shear Properties of Polymer Materials ASTM D5229 Conditioning of Polymer Composites ASTM D5379/ 5379M Standard Test Method for Shear Properties of Composite Materials by the V-Notched Beam Method ASTM D5766/ 5766M Open Hole Tensile Testing ASTM D6484/ 6484M Open Hole Compression ASTM D6641/ 6641M Standard Test Method for Compressive Properties of Polymer Composite Materials Using a Combined Loading Compression (CLC) Test Fixture ASTM D6742/ 6742M Filled Hole Tension & Compression Testing of Polymer Matrix Composite Laminates ASTM D7078/ 7078M  Compressive Properties of Polymer Composite Materials Using a Combined Loading Compression (CLC) Test Fixture